LG Electronics (LG) and SM Entertainment (SM) have joined hands to launch “Fitness Candy”, a joint venture in the home fitness field, and will start the service in September.
LG and SM hold a 51 and 49 percent stake, respectively, in the company.
At the official launch ceremony of Fitness Candy, held today in Seoul, Korea, both partners shared their vision for delivering new and differentiated home fitness experiences.
Combining their expertise in innovative consumer technology and cutting-edge entertainment, LG and SM aim to create a comprehensive lifestyle platform – complete with content, services and related products – to help people address their health and fitness needs at home.
LG will develop, operate and manage service platforms for Fitness Candy. As a global leader in user-friendly software and hardware solutions integrating advanced AI and data analysis capabilities, it will also be designing a new generation of home fitness devices prioritizing convenience, ease-of-use and F.U.N customer experiences.
Set to be released in September, the app will be available for installation in various operating systems and devices such as smartphones and smart TVs, providing interactive, personalized services that collect data from smart bands, cameras and exercise devices.
Fitness Candy provides content in six categories: strength training, core strengthening, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), dance, stretching and meditation. Content in each category will run for 10 to 40 minutes and will be updated weekly.
In close collaboration with SM, Fitness Candy is focused on creating content, not only limited to home fitness, that users can easily watch and enjoy. Encompassed by its slogan “Beyond Fitness, Sweet Life,” the company plans to secure a wealth of content such as sports, variety shows and documentaries, as well as content that helps with healthy diets, rehabilitation and stress relief.
The Fitness Candy platform will enable users to access a wide range of interactive fitness content featuring popular Korean celebrities, such as Fitness Candy ambassador and model Han Hye-jin, dancer Aiki, and actress Choi Yeo-jin.
Various South Korean athletes, including triathlete Heo Min-ho, Taekwondo Olympic medalist Lee Dae-hoon, short track speed skater Lee Yu-bin and former rugby player Andre Jin Coquillard, actively participated in the content creation process, enabling the company to provide even more professional and entertaining content to users.
The company aims to introduce a variety of new devices that can be linked to its app, allowing users to enjoy content more effectively. One of them is a device that can recognize and track users’ movements thanks to the inclusion of LG’s AI camera and IoT platform.
Connecting wirelessly to the user’s TV, the device allows for two-way communication, creating the ideal setup for virtual one-on-one coaching sessions and for participating in live-streamed exercise classes.
Fully utilizing LG’s innovative technologies such as AI, big data, motors and displays, the company also plans to develop products such as muscle strengthening devices, indoor bicycles and smart bands.
“We will transform LG’s business paradigm from function-oriented home appliances into a customer experience-oriented company, transforming into a company that provides smart life solutions to deliver the best customer experience,” said William Cho, CEO of LG Electronics. “Through Fitness Candy, LG’s innovative technology and SM’s content creating capabilities will converge to create differentiated smart life solutions that provide never-before-seen customer experiences.”
“The coming together of LG’s innovative technology and SM’s music, dance and various content that have paved the way for the future of K-pop is a great opportunity for the two companies to contribute to the global fitness and healthcare industry,” said Lee Sung-su, co-CEO of SM Entertainment. “Fitness Candy is a digital fitness content project that goes beyond simple diet experiences and, rather, empowers users to rediscover healthy fitness habits.”
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